Understanding is a Three-Edged Sword

Posted on 2021-03-08 by Bartholomew Barker

“There are eight sides to every argument,”
she said while sliding through a four-way stop.
But I’m a programmer, paid to think in ones and zeroes,
ons and offs, trues and false, though I see her point
as the car stops spinning and she accepts the direction
of chance. At this time of night we’re alone on the road,
in a shades of grey world— white snow, black ice
and muddled slush.

As the winter sky rotates above us. I try to impress
her with my astronomy, naming the cold sharpened stars
of the Winter Hexagon— Sirius, Rigel, Aldebaran,
Capella, Castor, Pollux and Procyon. “Even the bees,”
she reminds me, “know better than to put seven sides
on a honeycomb.”

(For this week’s Living Poetry Prompt. Title stolen from J. Michael Straczinski’s Babylon 5.)

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About Bartholomew Barker

Bartholomew Barker is an organizer of Living Poetry, a collection of poets in the Triangle region of North Carolina where he has hosted a monthly feedback workshop for more than decade. His first poetry collection, Wednesday Night Regular, written in and about strip clubs, was published in 2013. His second, Milkshakes and Chilidogs, a chapbook of food inspired poetry was served in 2017. He was nominated for a Pushcart Prize in 2021. Born and raised in Ohio, studied in Chicago, he worked in Connecticut for nearly twenty years before moving to Hillsborough where he lives and writes poetry.
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6 Responses to Understanding is a Three-Edged Sword

  2. Lisa Tomey-Zonneveld's avatar Lisa Tomey says:
    2021-03-09 at 03:08

    You made me count and I learned a bit about programming and astronomy. Count this one as an interesting piece with a clever ending.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
  3. writenaked's avatar writenaked says:
    2021-03-14 at 11:34

    Those bees know what they’re doing. ;)

    Liked by 1 person

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